The train manufacturer signed an agreement on Thursday with two Italian railway operators to supply a total of 25 hydrogen-powered trains.
Stadler Rail secured contracts with Azienda regionale sarda trasporti (Arst) and Ferrovie della Calabria (FdC) for the development, production, delivery and maintenance of 10 and 15 hydrogen-powered FLIRT H2 trains respectively.
Although the value of the order has not been disclosed, the Swiss-based company shared that the two projects are being financed under the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). These funds are available to EU member states to prepare and invest in green and digital transitions.
I guess that’s all to say, I wish they used the environmental money to electrify the line instead since that is a proven alternative. This way it seems a bit like greenwashing to me.
Fair enough. Maybe they look to innovate train transportation even further. For example i know that in certain places, they still use coal trains, because they haven’t rebuild the line to have electricity. This could give a boost to switch some old coal trains to hydrogen. Without the power lines, your much faster and more flexible in building train lines.